MidWestOne earnings virtually unchanged

IOWA CITY - MidWestOne Financial Group, corporate parent of MidWestOne Bank, posted third-quarter earnings that were essentially the same the third quarter of 2013.

The Iowa City bank holding company reported third-quarter net income of $4.9 million for the third quarter, or 59 cents per share, compared with $4.9 million, or 57 cents per share, for the same period last year.

Earnings were driven primarily by a 2.3 percent increase in net interest income, a 40 percent decrease in the provision for loan loss expense, and a 5.4 percent increase in noninterest income.

'It was a solid quarter and we believe that we are on target for our fourth consecutive year of record earnings per share,” said Charles Funk, president and CEO. 'The low level of interest rates continues to challenge us and, for that matter, many community banks.”

Funk said there was a 'meaningful increase” in deposits during the third quarter. He said that was due to some large deposits that will likely flow out of the bank during the fourth quarter.

Net interest income increased $300,000 from $13.3 million in the third quarter of 2013 to $13.6 million in the same quarter this year. Loan interest income decreased $100,000, or 0.5 percent, to $12.2 million for the third quarter of 2014, primarily due to the generally low interest rate environment and increased market competition for borrowers.

MidWestOne's provision for loan losses was $200,000 in the third quarter, a decrease of $100,000 from $300,000 in the third quarter of 2013. The decline reflects the effects of a steadily improving economic climate in the company's market area.